Archive for the 'Carter Beauford' Tag Under 'Soundcheck' Category

When it comes to staying power, Dave Matthews Band has much of the competition beat.

Few music acts together more than two decades can claim their last six studio albums debuted at No. 1 and went gold or platinum. The Virginia group consistently lands among the Top 10 American tour tallies and gives Bruce Springsteen a run for his money in the show-length department.

Saturday night’s sold-out return to Verizon Wireless Amphitheater – DMB is a perennial favorite at the Irvine venue and played there almost exactly a year ago – clocked in just under three hours. It was an awe-inspiring testament to the seven players’ superb musicianship, and while Matthews claimed to be hoarse while introducing opener Gary Clark Jr., he was in fine voice throughout the penultimate stop of this summer U.S. tour.

Surprisingly, DMB’s exceptional 2012 studio disc Away from the World, which reunited the group with producer Steve Lillywhite (a key figure early in their career), was only represented by three selections in O.C. Instead, fans were treated to good-sized chunks from formative work Under the Table and Dreaming (1994) and third album Before These Crowded Streets (1998), as well as some unreleased tunes (“Granny,” “Kill the Preacher”) and a pair from Matthews’ solo effort Some Devil (“Gravedigger,” “Save Me”).